[Source: Arizona Republic, Jim Walsh, 1-27-2010] — Apache Junction officials are so worried about economic fallout from the planned closure of Lost Dutchman State Park that they are considering annexing the iconic landmark. Apache Junction economic development director Steve Filipowicz said city officials are studying whether annexation would be feasible and whether it would make sense financially. Annexing the park could keep it open and preserve the estimated $4 million in economic impact the park provides from tourism.
At minimum, annexation would serve as a justification for city police officers to patrol the park to discourage vandalism, Filipowicz said. The move comes as cities, towns, counties and community groups from Flagstaff to Tubac are contemplating measures that would have been unthinkable only a few short years ago as they struggle to preserve some of Arizona’s natural and historic treasures in the face of deep budget cuts. Reacting to the Legislature’s decision in December to cut $8.6 million from the state parks budget, the Arizona State Parks Board voted earlier this month to take the unprecedented step of closing 21 of the 30 parks in the state system. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
Horse's patootie (read the article and you'll understand)
[Source: Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star] — The decision by lawmakers last month to take funds from the parks system means some will be closed later this year, the director of the agency said Thursday. The only question that remains, Renee Bahl said, is which ones. Bahl said the system, which already gets no direct taxpayer dollars, is being crippled because of the legislative action to take away a chunk of the funds they get from other sources. That includes not only the fees paid by those who go to the parks but also special funds raised, such as assessments on registration of boats and off-road vehicles. The bottom line, she said, is that her agency will have $7.5 million to spend rather than the $19 million it had planned for the fiscal year that began last July 1.
Bahl said she will make specific recommendations to the board on which parks to close in two weeks. But she outlined the criteria her staff will use — criteria that are likely to be bad news for the smallest and least-used of the parks. One of the most important, she said, is which make money or, at the very least, don’t lose a lot. Bahl said that makes the most sense, as the cash from those parks might eventually be enough to reopen one or more of those shut down.
Topping the list of money producers is Kartchner Caverns, near Benson, followed by Slide Rock and Lake Havasu state parks. Catalina State Park, north of Tucson, brings in about $193,000 more a year than it costs to operate. But the parks system also is populated with sites that bleed red ink. Topping that list is Tonto Natural Bridge near Payson, where costs exceed revenues by $541,000. Red Rock State Park at Sedona operates on a $190,000-a-year loss, with six-digit deficits at Tubac Presidio, Picacho Peak, Homolovi Ruins, and the Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff.
Bahl said, though, that the board will have to consider other factors when deciding which parks should be shut down. “There are one-time costs like fencing, or if we needed to add a security system to a building or board something up,” she said. “And we’re still going to need to keep an eye on it after that, checking it both for fire hazards and seeing if there’s any trespassing.”
Several board members, given the news, lashed out at lawmakers for taking the funds, even after being told at hearings last month that it will mean shutting parks. “We have people in the Legislature who don’t believe state parks should exist,” Tracey Westerhausen complained. She said the best thing that those who want the parks system could do is go out this year and elect different people.
Board Chairman Reese Woodling said the parks bring in more in tax dollars from visitors to communities than the cost. He said that message seems lost on lawmakers. But board member Arlan Colton said it’s not that they don’t understand. He said that, facing a multibillion-dollar deficit, “I don’t really think they give a horse’s patootie” about the effect of taking a couple of million dollars from the parks system.
Woodling said he and Bahl spoke with Gov. Jan Brewer earlier this week. He said the governor, who signed the legislation authorizing taking the money, was sympathetic but offered no answers. “I’m just sick to my stomach,” he said. Brewer had no choice but to approve raiding the funds, said her spokesman, Paul Senseman. “The Legislature has been unable to muster enough support for a deficit-reduction plan,” he said.
But Senseman said Brewer is unwilling, at least at this point, to endorse the recommendation of a task force she formed to create a “sustainable” park system: put an optional $15 surcharge on the registration fees for all vehicles in this state. The fees would raise enough to keep the system operating, with motorists who paid the extra cash getting free admission all year to every state park. “The governor believes it ought to be discussed in a very serious fashion,” Senseman said of the recommendation. [Note: To read the full article, visit Which Arizona state parks will close?]
[Source: Arizona Daily Star, Associated Press] — Arizona towns that rely on nearby state parks are seeing a big decline in tourism and the dollars that tourists spend. The state closed Jerome State Historic Park and Tonto Natural Bridge State Park on Feb. 26 after the Legislature cut more than $34 million in park funds to help fill budget gaps.
Art gallery, restaurant and bar owners in Jerome say the nearby state park is a major draw. Last year, 60,000 people came through Jerome. Researchers at Northern Arizona University say tourists brought $7 million to Yavapai County in 2007. Payson and other rim communities are coping with the partial closure of Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.
The park has been open most weekends since Memorial Day, but attendance has plummeted.
[Source: Camp Verde Bugle] — Arizona State Parks is more money-strapped than ever before under the new operating budget, but if the department is going to rely on supplemental funding from the communities it serves, state parks will be dropping like flies. Payson somehow found the money to help keep Tonto Natural Bridge State Park open on weekends this summer, and there was a similar situation in Yuma. The reality is, most towns next to state parks are not floating in spare cash. You know what they say about getting blood from a turnip.
Arizona State Parks has heightened its call for help beyond your basic volunteers. They want cash. They would especially like funds from local towns. It has a selling job to do in order to winkle money out of penny-pinching municipalities. There has to be viable proof of value to the town. If, for instance, the Town of Camp Verde found some extra coins in its linty pockets and dedicated it to a Fort Verde fund, would there really be a return on its investment? Or would it be a stop-gap measure to allow the park to hang on just a little longer?
Fort Verde is an example of a park that could do with a real concrete partnership with the Town of Camp Verde. Fort Verde has already cut operation hours and staff, and more cuts would come hard. Governmental partnerships are key to financial survival at this stage. [Note: To read the full article, click here]
[Source: Arizona Republic, Jim Walsh, 1-27-2010] — Apache Junction officials are so worried about economic fallout from the planned closure of Lost Dutchman State Park that they are considering annexing the iconic landmark. Apache Junction economic development director Steve Filipowicz said city officials are studying whether annexation would be feasible and whether it would make sense financially. Annexing the park could keep it open and preserve the estimated $4 million in economic impact the park provides from tourism.
You must be logged in to post a comment.